


Loud and Clear

by YoshiStack



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc
Genre: F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Love Confessions, mostly unedited
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:35:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25722946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoshiStack/pseuds/YoshiStack
Summary: Sometimes, actions speak louder than words.
Relationships: Kirigiri Kyoko/Naegi Makoto
Comments: 10
Kudos: 79





	Loud and Clear

**Author's Note:**

> Yoshi back on her bs? Writing more Naegiri? In 2020? In this economy?
> 
> It's more likely than you think.

Loud and Clear

Makoto Naegi had three very simple words he wanted to say to Kyouko Kirigiri.

'I like you.'

That was it. That was all he wanted to say. Those three words were all that would be required for her to understand the message he wanted to send. Just three words. That was it.

Three easy words.

And yet… as he sat next to her on a bench not far from Hope's Peak's main building, he found he couldn't do it. He couldn't say them, or any other similar words. He found he couldn't say much of anything really—his throat felt far too dry to even try.

All he could do, as he sat a few inches away from her, was stare down at his lap and use what little willpower he could muster to force himself not to bounce his leg from nerves. His knuckles were stark white as he pressed his tightly clenched fists down against his knee so hard it almost hurt.

Mentally, he wanted to do nothing more than slap himself. He was being ridiculous! He was the one who'd asked her to meet him here in the first place, but he'd hardly said a word since she'd shown up. She hadn't said anything about his behavior—he wasn't naive enough to try and delude himself into thinking she hadn't picked up on it, he knew her better than that—but she had to be thinking he was nuts by now. He was acting so weird. He was surprised she hadn't just gotten up and left yet.

He should say something. He needed to say something, anything to try and get his point across, or even just to make general conversation at this point. He knew that, and yet… he couldn't.

Because all he could think about instead was every other time he'd been in this situation.

He'd lost count of how many times he'd tried confessing to her by now. He'd stopped keeping count after he realized the pattern. That the location could change—it could be a classroom, the cafeteria, a hallway, anywhere—but the outcome would always remain the same:

Something would always interrupt him before he could spit the words out.

Always.

Sometimes it would be his own nerves just naturally getting the better of him and having him chicken out at the last minute. He'd awkwardly laugh and say anything else that came to mind instead. But more often than that, something would interrupt before he could get to the point.

Like the time Taka came and dragged him off to a study session he'd forgotten about agreeing to.

Or the time he'd been looking for her after class one day, only for him to lose her completely after Maizono had asked him for his opinion on a recent song that had come out.

Or even the time he got interrupted by a baseball smacking him in the face and nearly breaking his nose.

Or any of the other countless attempts that has gone awry. It was always something. It felt like the world was out to get him anymore.

'Ultimate Lucky Student' his foot…

But the worst part wasn't even that he could never say the words.

It was the look on her face every time it happened. There was a subtle shift in her expression he noticed, something about her eyes. Just a hint of frustration and maybe even disappointment seemed to sneak through them whenever she looked at him after an attempt.

Disappointment and frustration, he could only assume, at the fact that he'd wasted her time with pointless small talk, something she notoriously disliked.

And he hated the idea of making her waste her time.

And now it was all he could think about: how this time was bound to be no different from the last, and he'd be met with the same disheartening expression yet again.

He sighed. He didn't want to see that look on her face again. This had been a stupid idea. He should just quit while he was ahead. But before he could even open his mouth to suggest auch and idea…

"Naegi," she spoke suddenly, making him jump and look at her. Her gaze was still pointed ahead. "I assume you had some reason you wanted to meet with me." It wasn't a question.

She'd been quiet for so long, he'd been convinced she wasn't going to say anything. Now that she'd proven him wrong, he wasn't sure what to do. He could still back out, but that would just be a waste again, right?

He gulped. "I uh… well…" He rubbed his neck, fiddling with the hood of his jacket a bit as he looked away from her again. And that's when he noticed something:

There wasn't really anyone else around.

The park he'd picked to meet her at wasn't far from their school, so it was normally swarming with other students by this time of day. But today it was practically empty. There were a few people walking off in the distance, but that was it. Otherwise, they were alone.

Which meant no one coming up to interrupt him before he could say anything.

He almost couldn't believe it. It couldn't be real, could it? But no matter how much he looked around, the facts didn't change: there was no one else there.

It was almost a perfect situation. Too perfect, honestly. He almost couldn't believe it was happening. How long would it last?

He didn't know. So that meant he needed to take this chance fast.

He took in a deep breath and finally nodded at her. "Actually," he started. "yeah, there was something I wanted to talk with you about."

She looked back at him with a questioning look. Her eyes were squarely focused on him; he definitely had her interest. He gulped.

No backing out now.

"I uh…" He forced himself to unclench his fists to try and calm down. He could do this. "It's something I've wanted to say to you for awhile, actually. I just… haven't known how to say it, or well… I do but, it's just been weird and…"

He was rambling again. Why did he always do that around her? This was far more than what he'd meant to say. He stopped and bit his lip. He needed to relax.

Three words. That was all he needed to say. Just those three words.

Kirigiri, patient with him as ever, simply gave him an encouraging nod.

Three words, he reminded himself. He closed his eyes, and when they opened again they burned with determination.

"Kiri… what I really wanted to say was that I-"

A short chime cut him off. He tilted his head. What was that? But when he saw Kirigiri frown and reach for her pocket, he knew. It was her cell phone.

Another interruption. But maybe not the end of the world?

She took a look at the screen as it flashed at her and he swore he heard her let out a huff. She held it close to her chest and looked up at him apologetically.

"It's a call about an evidence analysis I've been waiting for," she explained. "I have to take it,"

Oh… it was important. Because of course it was.

"Ah… r-right…" he muttered, ducking his head. "I understand…"

She had that look on her face again. Ah, if it was about evidence, that meant she was on a case, right? She could've been doing something with that instead of watching him have a crisis for however long they'd been out here.

God this had been such a stupid idea.

He shoved his hands into his pocket and stared at the ground, trying not to seem disappointed. "I'll uh… let you do that then. See you later," he muttered as he stood up.

Maybe it just wasn't meant to be…

He turned on his heel and started to walk back in the direction of the school with a sigh. He'd just have to find something else to do instead. But before he made it even three steps…

"Naegi!" She suddenly grabbed hold of his shoulder and yanked him back, spinning him around to face her again. And then, before he could even start to form a question, she pressed her lips against his.

His eyes went wide and he let out a startled sound.

She… she was kissing him. Kirigiri was kissing him! But… that couldn't be right! He hadn't even said anything to her yet. Why would she do that? Why…?

His brain was still scrambling for answers when she pulled away a moment later. Her face was tinged with pink as he stared at her with his mouth agape. She looked away to the side, then hit a button on her phone to receive the call. She responded to whoever was on the other end with a serious, business like tone that didn't match her current express whatsoever.

But the exact words she said to the caller were lost on him. His brain felt too fried to even begin to focus on such a thing.

She… just kissed him. Kyouko Kirigiri had just kissed him. Him of all people!

It was all he could think about. Black started to dot the edges of his vision. Vaguely, he thought he should sit back down, but his body refused to move.

The last thing he remembered was the feeling of his knees giving out under him and an incredible wave of dizziness.

* * *

He woke with a start, gasping loudly as his eyes opened. Immediately he was met with harsh fluorescent lights hanging above him and auditing his vision. He winced and held up a hand to block them.

Wait… that wasn't right. Hadn't he just been outside?

He put his hand down to help prop himself up. Underneath he didn't feel the rough texture of pavement, but rather the soft fabric of a blanket. He looked down.

He was in his bed.

The realization struck him like a bolt of lightning.

"Oh…" he let out quietly. "It… it was all just a dream then."

He frowned. He shouldn't have been so surprised. There was no way something like that could ever actually happen. And yet he still felt disappointed by it all the same. It had felt so real…

His fingers reached up and brushed against his lips at the thought.

"...Do you often mutter to yourself like that?" He suddenly heard from behind him.

He let out a yelp at the noise. In his panic, he flung himself backwards and tumbled off the bed and onto the floor. He let out a groan as his head thumped against the side of the bed. That one was gonna hurt for a while.

A moment later, after he struggled to get up he felt hands on his shoulders helping him right himself. He looked up.

...Kirigiri!?

"You're going to give yourself a concussion if you keep doing this," she warned him.

"I… I er…" he stammered out. "I mean uh… w-what're you doing here?"

She raised a brow at him. "Someone had to make sure you were ok."

Ok…? Ok from wha-?

Oh… Oh.

His eyes went wide. His head snapped toward her, though the pang of pain made him regret it. Wincing, he asked, "Wait… so in the park… that actually happened?!" Surely she was joking!

She sure didn't look it though. She gave him a wordless nod.

"B-but…!" His face felt like it was on fire. "Then that means… you kissed me!"

Her lips twitched into a ghost of a smile. "A fine observation,"

"But… but why?"

At that she looked almost confused. "You were about to confess to harboring a crush on me, were you not?" she asked.

He scratched at his cheek. "W-well, yeah but… hey wait! How did you know that?!" He hadn't told anyone else!

...Well, except Maizono (damn her and her intuition), but she wouldn't have told anyone about that, would she?

She stood up before she answered, offering a hand to him to help him back to his feet. "I believe I've mentioned before that you often wear your heart on your sleeve?" she reminded him. "You're not very subtle. I've… known for awhile." Her face went slightly pink again as she tucked some loose hair behind her ear.

"O-oh…"

Well. That was definitely embarrassing.

"Yes, I'd been waiting on you to say something about it for awhile now, actually," she admitted after a moment of silence.

He rubbed at the back of his head. "Ah, s-sorry?" It sounded more like a question than he'd meant it to.

"Yes, it was… quite annoying, actually," she added, but then waved it off. "But I suppose the message is clear enough now,"

"Oh, I don't know about that…" He gave her a shy smile as he felt his face heat up again. "I mean… I _did_ kinda pass out the first time… Could you maybe repeat it for me?"

First her eyes went wide, then a sly smile of her own appeared. "Cheeky, aren't you?" she said. She took a step toward him and tilted his head up with her finger. "Fine. Listen up this time…" she said, and then leaned in again...

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really have much to say other than I just really wanted to write something for them again, especially after looking through some stuff on tumblr again. I wrote this in like, a day and a half, and it's largely unedited, so if it's a little unpolished that's why.
> 
> But damn it if I'm not a sucker for those two still.


End file.
